A maioria das escolas públicas consegue contrariar o impacto da pobreza no insucesso escolar, mas os estabelecimentos onde o contexto socioeconómico mais penaliza os alunos são também aqueles que mais sofrem com a falta de professores.
Ao longo da escolaridade obrigatória, e sobretudo até chegarem ao ensino secundário, são poucos os alunos que ficam para trás, mas concluir cada ciclo sem reprovar continua a ser mais difícil para os mais pobres.
Muitas escolas já conseguem contrariar essa relação, mas noutras o desempenho dos alunos carenciados fica muito aquém das expectativas, e as dificuldades não parecem estar alheadas do problema da falta de professores.
A conclusão resulta da análise feita pela Lusa ao indicador de equidade que acompanha os alunos com ASE e compara o seu sucesso escolar com a média nacional dos alunos com um perfil semelhante à entrada de cada ciclo de estudos.
No ano letivo 2023/2024, a que se referem os dados mais recentes disponibilizados pelo Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação, a percentagem de alunos com ASE a concluir cada ciclo no tempo esperado superou a média nacional comparável em cerca de 53% das escolas, enquanto 40% registaram níveis negativos de equidade.
Olhando para o mapa, é possível perceber que as escolas que mais se destacam pela positiva situam-se, sobretudo, no norte do país.
No ensino secundário, por exemplo, 159 das 314 escolas analisadas conseguiram que os seus alunos carenciados superassem as expectativas, mas entre as 30 com níveis mais elevados de equidade, 22 pertencem a distritos da região Norte.
Pelo contrário, das 30 escolas que ocupam o fundo da tabela – onde a percentagem de alunos a concluir o secundário em três anos é mais baixa face à média nacional comprável – 15 encontram-se no distrito de Lisboa e outras cinco no distrito de Setúbal, os mais afetados pela falta de professores.
É o caso da Escola Secundária de Alves Redol, em Vila Franca de Xira. Dos 16 alunos com ASE, apenas três (19%) concluíram o ensino secundário sem chumbar, muito abaixo da média das escolas com um contexto socioeconómico idêntico (70%).
Nos últimos anos letivos, o quadro de zona pedagógica (QZP) em que a Alves Redol se insere foi classificado pelo Ministério da Educação como “carenciado” por se verificar uma insuficiência estrutural de docentes, mas o exemplo daquela escola em Vila Franca de Xira não é o único.
Além dessa, outras 23 das 30 escolas com níveis de equidade mais baixos no ensino secundário fazem igualmente parte de QZP carenciados, em contraste com as que mais se destacam pela positiva, nenhuma das quais com insuficiência de professores.
A relação entre a falta de docentes e a capacidade de as escolas superarem o impacto das condições socioeconómicas no sucesso dos alunos é mais evidente no ensino secundário, mas verifica-se igualmente nos restantes ciclos de ensino, em que metade das 30 escolas com níveis mais baixos de equidade pertencem a QZP carenciados.
Por regiões, o país divide-se claramente a meio no que respeita à equidade: independentemente do ciclo de ensino, só as regiões Norte e Centro registam valores positivos, enquanto a Grande Lisboa, Península de Setúbal e Algarve apresentam, em média, valores negativos do 1.º ciclo ao secundário.
Além das crianças e jovens provenientes de famílias mais desfavorecidas, ter um percurso escolar sem percalços também é mais difícil para os estudantes de nacionalidade estrangeira.
Entre os mais pequenos, as diferenças são menos acentuadas, mas o fosso aumenta à medida que os estudantes avançam nos estudos.
No 3.º ciclo, por exemplo, 89% dos alunos portugueses terminaram o 9.º ano sem chumbar naquele ou nos dois anos anteriores, em contraste com os 63% oriundos da Guiné-Bissau, ou os 61% de Cabo Verde e São Tomé e Príncipe.
Ao longo de toda a escolaridade obrigatória, os alunos chineses são os que mais conseguem aproximar-se dos colegas portugueses, sendo a distância maior no ensino secundário, em que 10 pontos percentuais separam as duas nacionalidades.
High-profile races that will determine which party controls the Senate for the next two years are extremely tight, according to a new CNN poll, as Maine and Kansas remain close and Democrats extended their leads in Texas and Michigan.
Democrats, who are widely projected to win a majority in the House of Representatives, need to flip four Senate seats from red to blue in order to gain a 51-seat majority, protecting their majority from the vice presidential tiebreaker.
Maine
In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the only Republican incumbent running in a state that went for Kamala Harris in 2024.
Collins' Democratic challenger is Troy Jackson, the former president of the state Senate who jumped into the race as a replacement for the previous nominee, scandal-plagued Graham Platner.
The race has no clear frontrunner, according to the CNN poll, though Jackson holds a marginal lead.
Forty-nine percent of respondents told the outlet's pollsters they favored Jackson, compared to 45% for Collins. While Jackson is slightly ahead, at least 12.5% of voters say they could still change their minds.
Respondents tied Collins to her party less than any other Republican running for Senate in the nation, with 46% of respondents saying they believe she would choose her constituents over the Republican Party.
With Collins managing to distance herself from Trump, her race has largely become a referendum on her own career. Three-quarters of respondents from either party told CNN pollsters that their choice was motivated more by Collins than Jackson.
In Michigan, despite warnings from some mainstream Democrats and the state's Jewish community, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed is building a lead over former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.
Respondents favored El-Sayed at 49% compared to the 42% who favored Rogers, according to the poll. CNN's previous poll, released in early September, showed El-Sayed with a 47% share compared to Rogers' 44%, showing the former public health director El-Sayed building on his lead.
The Democrat has consolidated his party's support after a contentious primary with Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. Ninty-five percent of likely Democrat voters say they'll punch the ticket for El-Sayed, up from 90% in the September poll.
Rogers voters, meanwhile, are motivated more by dislike for the Democratic candidate than faith in the Republican. 57% told CNN pollsters they were voting against El-Sayed, up from 41% in a previous poll.
Rogers' favorability has also taken a hit, moving from 58% in September to 50% in October.
Texas
Texas State Rep. James Talarico also built upon a narrow lead over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite Talarico's extended absence from the campaign trail in early October.
Forty-nine percent of likely voters told pollsters they'd vote for Talarico, while 43% said they would vote for Paxton, according to the poll.
Texas, a state that has voted for exactly one new Democratic Senate candidate into office since Lyndon B. Johnson vacated his seat to become vice president, also voted more strongly for Trump in 2024 than in either of his previous elections.
Despite the typically steadfast support for the GOP in the Lone Star State, Talarico is riding a wave of favorability and minority support to remain in pole position five days before polls close.
CNN's poll says 64% of likely voters of color support Talarico, including 22% of the cohort that voted for Trump in 2024.
Talarico is also leading Paxton in favorability within their own parties. 24% of Republicans have an unfavorable view of Paxton, according to the poll. Just 2% of Democrats, meanwhile, view Talarico unfavorably.
Kansas
In Kansas, a state which Trump won by 16 percentage points in 2024, incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is falling behind Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.
Forty-nine percent of likely voters say they support Hamilton, 45% say they support Marshall.
Hamilton, a relatively unknown candidate, is far outperforming his own party in a state where Democrats are broadly unfavorable. 57% of voters view the Democratic Party as unfavorable while only 38% of them feel the same about Hamilton.
Like Republicans in Michigan, likely voters in Kansas appear to be more highly motivated by a dislike for one candidate than strong positive feelings for another. 59% of Hamilton backers say they're motivated by opposition to Marshall.
Hamilton, a Christian pastor, is even drawing support from across the aisle. Roughly 12% of Republicans and Republican-leaning likely voters say they support Hamilton, according to the poll.
CNN conducted its polling via telephone between Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. Registered voters were randomly sampled, according to the outlet. 838 likely voters were considered in Kansas, 783 in Maine, 768 in Michigan and 923 in Texas. CNN tabulated its margins of sampling error at plus or minus 4.5% for Kansas and Maine, 4.7% in Michigan and 4.2% in Texas.
Fox News Digital contacted all eight campaigns for further comment.
We’re updating this forecast to move South Carolina from Lean R to Toss-up.
As this week’s Power Rankings reported, Republicans already viewed this as an uncomfortably close race. That belief is now widely shared.
Tonight, the president is headed back there to help Sen. Darline Graham in the Upstate, where she underperformed in her primary runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman.
New polling has Democratic challenger Annie Andrews and Graham tied at 48%-48%.
The Senate is still a toss-up with six states to decide the majority. On a good night for the Democrats, their ceiling rises to 54 seats. A good night for the Republicans could see them retain control with up to 52 seats.
It seems like there are two electorates in these midterms.
The first is frustrated with President Trump and ready to reject Republicans. It includes growing numbers of independent, rural and Hispanic voters who say they’ll vote for a Democrat.
That’s what the latest round of House polling shows, including a survey last week that had Democrats up 11 points on the generic ballot and Fox’s most recent national poll.
The second electorate is wavering on Republicans but won’t necessarily hand Democrats the Senate. These are the voters in the Midwest and a few other places. They say they prefer the Democrat or Republican in their states by a point or two at most.
That’s the right conclusion from most of the battleground Senate polling.
How could both things be true? In other words, if Democrats have such a wide lead in the House, won’t the Senate fall too?
Both are true, and a big lead in the House doesn’t necessarily translate to the Senate. These voters are all in the same electorate, and they only seem divorced from each other because the House and Senate maps are so far apart this year.
The president’s declining approval rating and Democratic advantages on the issues will likely deliver them the House and possibly by many seats.
Those advantages have also allowed the blue team to play in a lot of Senate races that Republicans thought were unreachable, but only to the point of making them battlegrounds.
The road to a Senate majority goes through several states that Trump won by 11 points or more. Democrats can win any of these races. If Republicans turn out and stay loyal to their party, the climb for the left will be steep.
That’s why the Senate is a toss-up. Voters could give Democrats a majority and maybe with several seats to spare. They could also let the Republicans keep control.
We’ll find out in seven days.
Democrats have strong advantages on most key issues
In his 11-year political career, President Trump has triumphed over almost all of the threats to his power. The exception was the coronavirus pandemic, which was the top issue for voters in the 2020 election and ushered in the Biden presidency.
It was also one of the few threats that Trump has faced from abroad.
This time, Trump and the Republicans face a new foreign opponent: Iran. The administration’s decision to start joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes against the nation in February has cast a shadow over the GOP.
First, it has impacted Trump’s approval rating, which will decide the fate of many congressional Republicans and has fallen since the war began. It was 44% in the last pre-war survey and sits at 36% now.
The war has also given Democrats advantages on the top issues. In Fox’s October survey, Iran played a role in four issues that more than two-thirds of voters said they were concerned about: inflation (85%), gas prices (83%), government leadership (79%) and the war in Iran itself (75%).
Most voters said they preferred the Democrats to handle those issues: 16 points on inflation, 12 points on gas prices, 11 points on leadership and 9 points on foreign policy.
Republicans are competitive on home turf
Still, voters are not convinced that the Senate should change hands.
That comes down to the territory. Trump won seven of these 10 battleground states in 2024 and six of them by double digits. That includes Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.
Democrats don’t need to win all of those states to take the Senate, but it’s hard to see how they get to 51 seats without at least two of them.
While former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown leads in Ohio, the other states are close. Turnout, a polling error in either direction, or both could decide them.
There are also a lot of undecided voters. In Alaska, Iowa and Kansas, three states with recent high-quality polling, an average of 10% of voters say they haven’t decided who they will support or won’t support the major candidates.
Any guess on how those voters will break at the ballot box is only a guess. All we know from prior results is that the overall electorate leans conservative, so the Democrats have the tougher assignment to bring them over to their side (or keep them at home).
There are far fewer undecided voters in Texas, where last week’s Fox News Poll showed a tied race at 49%-49%.
If Democrats only win two Trump-won battlegrounds, they’ll need to win three other races where former Vice President Harris delivered single-digit victories in 2024: Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
Democrats are ahead in the latter two. Maine could go either way. While Democrats win its presidential races, it could just as easily be considered a Republican state when Susan Collins is on the ballot.
The final Fox News Power Rankings for 2026 feature three shifts in the Senate and 19 in the House. A tight gubernatorial race is also on the move.
Senate: Democrats are favored in 48 seats; Ohio moves to Lean D and South Carolina moves to Toss-up
Both parties are short of a majority in this forecast. Democrats are favored in 48 seats, and Republicans are ahead in 46 (they would control the Senate with 50 seats because the vice president breaks ties).
On a good night for Democrats, the party would win most or all the toss-ups, taking the majority with up to 54 seats. In that scenario, other competitive states would also come into focus, including one rated Lean R, and on a great Democratic night, two more rated Likely R.
A good night for the Republicans would see them simply hold on to most of the states they already have, up to a ceiling of 52 seats. The party also has opportunities to flip a couple of states, including Minnesota and New Hampshire.
Three states are moving in this forecast.
Ohio
In Ohio, Brown has enjoyed a lead in three Fox News polls this year, including last week’s survey, which had him five points ahead of Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted at 52%-47%.
Ohio voters are very familiar with Brown, having sent him to the Senate three times. That has made it hard for Husted to campaign on socialism and woke politics, themes that Republicans elsewhere see as their strongest cards to play.
Ohio moves from Toss-up to Lean D.
("Lean D" means the Democrat has an edge, but it’s still a highly competitive race. We define every ranking and the process for setting them on FoxNews.com.)
South Carolina
As this week’s Power Rankings previously reported, Republicans already viewed this as an uncomfortably close race. That belief is now widely shared.
Tonight, the president is headed back there to help Senator Graham in the Upstate, where she underperformed in her primary runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman.
South Carolina moves from Lean R to Toss-up.
Mississippi
Mississippi is a Republican stronghold, but Trump’s decision to rally there over other deep red states is a sign that the party thinks it’s competitive.
GOP Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith faces Democratic District Attorney Scott Colom in a race where protein choice has become a breakout issue.
Mississippi moves from Solid R to Likely R.
House: The floor for Democrats ticks up four seats to 223
Democrats are still likely to flip the House this November, and in this forecast, they’re predicted to take at least 223 seats.
Since a good night for the Democrats would see them take most of the toss-up races, they could end up with as many as 240 seats.
(On a great Democratic night, the party would pick up most of the Lean R districts as well, taking them as high as 252 seats.)
Republicans have 195 seats in their columns. A good night for them would take that total up to around 212. That’s six short of a majority, but enough to make life difficult for the next Democratic House Speaker, who would have to balance the demands of the moderate and far-left wings of the party.
Nineteen more races have shifted in the Democrats’ direction this week, all on the same themes outlined in the last House update: national and district polling, top-of-the-ticket strength and rural voter erosion.
The earliest-closing districts on election night will give some sense of the House’s future. Keep an eye on Kentucky’s 6th district, which covers Lexington and a large central area of the state. Trump won here by 15 points in the last presidential election. Thanks to a combination of left-leaning college voters and farmers grappling with higher costs, it looks close this cycle. The district moves from Lean R to Toss-up.
Governor: Ad or no ad, the Ohio governor’s race moves to Lean D
Finally, Ohio’s gubernatorial race is also on the move. The campaign between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy was the top story in politics last week after Ramaswamy ran an ad featuring Acton’s mother, who called her daughter a liar.
Acton has been estranged from her mother since age 12, when she says she and her brother left her family home because her mother’s husband was sexually abusing her. Acton’s brother now appears in a response ad discussing their family history.
This ratings change is less about the response to the ad (Ramaswamy and President Trump are supportive of the commercial; most others, including Husted and Governor Mike DeWine, are against it) than it is about the fact that the Ramaswamy campaign felt the need to run it.
While Ramaswamy sat only two points behind Acton in last week’s Fox poll, he’s an average of seven points behind in other high-quality polls since September.
The businessman and onetime presidential hopeful has struggled in favorability ratings throughout his political career. This ad is unlikely to help.
The Ohio governor’s race moves from Toss-up to Lean D.
Fox News’ special coverage of the 2026 midterm elections begins at 6 p.m. ET next Tuesday, November 3, anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Tune in for the latest race calls and projections for control of the House and Senate from the Fox News Decision Desk.
An Amazon Web Services data center under construction in Sterling, Virginia. Virginia has the highest number of data centers of any state.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The AI boom is accelerating data center development across the US.
Even states with few data centers are attracting major hyperscale projects.
Here's how all 50 US states rank by their number of operational data centers.
The data center business is booming in the US, and some states are feeling it more than others.
Data centers, which house the computing machines that power digital services, have been around for decades. However, the amount of computing power required to fuel the AI boom has accelerated their development and brought the industry into the mainstream.
This ranking was compiled by analyzing data from Data Center Map, an industry source that maps data center locations around the world. It shows a snapshot of its US database as of October 2026. Business Insider limited this ranking to fully operational data centers.
Data Center Map compiles its data from multiple sources and mainly tracks cloud and colocation service providers. Each data center it tracks has to have an initial capacity of at least 10 cabinets. While some states have hyperscale AI data centers, others have relatively small operations.
Firstly, data center operators and service providers add their own listings to market themselves. Data Center Map also monitors external databases and manually identifies any missing operators. It also handles requests from users who identify missing or outdated listings.
There is no federal requirement for data centers to register in a central database, so the figures should not be interpreted as a complete census of every data center in the country. Data Center Map also says it has a "more limited coverage on enterprise and government data centers."
Last year, Business Insider created its own US data centers map, which included estimated power usage, as part of an investigation into the industry.
Here are the states with the most operational data centers, ranked from least to most.
50. Vermont
Stowe, Vermont.
Jim Espey/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 3
Vermont's three operational data centers are located in Stowe, South Burlington, and Williston. The state has a limited electrical grid, according to the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
49. Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska.
Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 4
Half of Alaska's operational data centers are located in Anchorage. The University of Alaska Fairbanks said that the high cost of electricity and network connections are some of the challenges for data center buildout in the state.
48. South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Lindsay Guido/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 5
Most of South Dakota's data centers are in Sioux Falls. Lawmakers in South Dakota rejected proposals for industry tax incentives in 2026 while enacting new restrictions on electricity and water use, according to the South Dakota Searchlight.
46. Maine (tie)
Brunswick, Maine.
Photo Italia LLC/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 6
Maine has data centers in Portland, Brunswick, and Bangor.
Maine's Gov. Janet Mills signed an order in April to establish a data center advisory council to advise on large-scale data center development.
46. Delaware (tie)
Wilmington, Delaware.
Bo Shen/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 6
Half of the data centers in Delaware are located in Wilmington.
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed legislation in August requiring data centers to generate their own energy and cover infrastructure costs, WHYY reported.
44. West Virginia (tie)
Charleston, West Virginia.
Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 7
West Virginia's data centers are located in South Charleston, Bridgeport, Charleston, Star City, Petersburg, Nitro, and Berkeley Springs.
Having previously lacked the regulatory framework to approve or deny large-scale projects, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced a data center development plan in August.
44. Rhode Island (tie)
Providence, Rhode Island.
Wirestock/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 7
All of Rhode Island's data centers are located in Providence.
The Providence Journal reported in April that one of the reasons Rhode Island has not been as attractive to data center developers is high energy costs.
42. Montana (tie)
Billings, Montana.
George Dodd/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 8
The majority of Montana's data centers are located in Billings.
Over half of Hawaii's data centers are in Honolulu.
The Honolulu Civil Beat reported that there are currently no hyperscale data centers in Hawaii.
41. Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas.
Brandon Olafsson/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 9
The city with the most data centers in Arkansas is Little Rock.
Google announced its first data center in the state, to be located in West Memphis, in 2025, while Avaio is developing a large-scale one near Little Rock.
39. New Hampshire (tie)
Manchester, New Hampshire.
ChrisBoswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 10
Manchester has three data centers, while the rest are spread across seven different cities.
A proposed data center in Nottingham was withdrawn earlier this year following local opposition, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported.
39. Idaho (tie)
Boise, Idaho.
knowlesgallery/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 10
Four of Idaho's 10 data centers are located in Boise, followed by three in Coeur d'Alene.
Meta plans to operate a $1.2 billion data center in Kuna, which it broke ground on in 2022.
38. Louisiana
Construction underway at River Bend, Hut 8's AI data center campus in Saint Francisville, Louisiana.
Kathleen Flynn/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 12
The majority of Louisiana's data centers are located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Meta is building its largest-ever data center in Richland Parish, which will house the multi-gigawatt AI cluster Hyperion.
37. North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota.
gnagel/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 13
Four of North Dakota's data centers are located in Fargo, followed by three in Ellendale.
There are some large-scale data center projects in the state, such as Applied Digital's 280-megawatt campus near Harwood.
36. Kansas
Lenexa, Kansas.
Wirestock/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 15
Nearly half of Kansas' operational data centers are located in Lenexa, which has seven of the state's 15 facilities.
Kansas is experiencing a surge in plans for large-scale data center development, including one by Dubai-based developer Damac Properties in Edgerton, Kansas, The Wall Street Journal reported.
35. Mississippi
Work continues on a data center being built by SpaceXAI in Southaven, Mississippi.
Brandon Dill / AFP via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 16
Six of Mississippi's operational data centers are located in Canton.
Amazon announced in April this year that it increased its total planned investment in its Mississippi data centers, including in Canton, to $25 billion.
33. New Mexico (tie)
Los Lunas, New Mexico.
Lily Kimei/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 20
Over half of New Mexico's data centers are located in Los Lunas.
Meta opened a data center in Los Lunas in 2019, which it has since expanded.
33. Connecticut (tie)
Stamford, Connecticut.
stockphoto52/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 20
Connecticut's 20 operational data centers are spread across multiple cities, with the highest concentration in Stamford.
The Connecticut Mirror reported that lawmakers said the state's high electricity costs make it unattractive to data center developers.
32. Wyoming
Cows graze in the area where the Prometheus Hyperscale Data Center will be built east of Evanston, Wyoming.
Natalie Behring/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 22
All but two of Wyoming's data centers are located in Cheyenne, with the other two in Casper and Afton.
In 2012, Microsoft built its first data center in Cheyenne and has expanded its footprint there multiple times since.
31. Alabama
Dusk Over The Downtown Urban City Center of Huntsville Alabama
ChrisBoswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Number of operational data centers: 23
Huntsville has the most operational data centers in Alabama.
Missouri's 47 operational data centers are spread across eight cities, with Kansas City accounting for most of them.
Axios reported in September that most of Missouri's planned data center expansion is concentrated in the Kansas City metropolitan area, citing research by Cleanview.
21. Minnesota (tie)
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
GummyBone/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 47
Minnesota's 47 data centers are spread across 21 cities, with Minneapolis accounting for 15, followed by Eden Prairie, St. Paul, Shakopee, and Minnetonka.
Google announced earlier this year that it plans to build a data center in Pine Island.
20. Nevada
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Several companies are building facilities in an area about 15 miles east of downtown Reno in this development project named the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center including data storage facilities from Switch. Apple is also building a data storage facility nearby in the Reno Technology Park (Photo by David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images)
David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 51
More than half of Nevada's data centers are located in Las Vegas.
Switch has plans to expand its Citadel Campus at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, which the company says will have gigawatts of power capacity upon completion.
19. Indiana
A technician works at an Amazon Web Services AI data center in New Carlisle, Indiana.
Noah Berger/Getty Images via Amazon Web Services
Number of operational data centers: 51
Indiana's 51 operational data centers are spread across 11 cities, with Indianapolis leading and New Carlisle following.
18. Tennessee
Construction at an xAI data center in Memphis on April 25, 2025.
Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 53
Nashville has the largest concentration of Tennessee's 53 operational data centers.
Elon Musk's xAI describes its Colossus facility in Memphis as the world's largest AI supercomputer.
16. Michigan (tie)
Construction of a data center developed by Related Digital for Oracle and OpenAI in Saline, Michigan.
: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 58
Michigan's 58 data centers are spread across 27 cities, with Southfield accounting for the most.
Part of the Stargate Project, Related Digital kicked off construction of a $16 billion data center called "The Barn" in Saline Township in June.
16. Colorado (tie)
QTS constructs a data center in Aurora in 2025.
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 58
There are 14 data centers in operation in Denver, followed by 11 in Englewood, 7 in Centennial, and 7 in Colorado Springs.
QTS is expanding its 65-acre data center campus in Aurora, Colorado, Colorado Public Radio reported in July.
15. Iowa
The "Edged Des Moines" data center nears completion in Altoona, Iowa.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 69
Altoona and West Des Moines are among Iowa's leading data center locations, alongside Council Bluffs and Des Moines.
Google has had a campus in Council Bluffs since 2007, recently invested in its expansion, and has also kicked off a new one in Cedar Rapids.
14. North Carolina
Meta's data center in Forest City, taken in 2010 when it was formerly a Facebook data center.
Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 76
Charlotte has 24 data centers, the most in North Carolina, followed by Raleigh, Maiden, and Lenoir.
An Amazon Web Services construction project in Berwick.
Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 78
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have the largest concentrations of operational data centers in Pennsylvania.
In 2025, Amazon announced plans to invest at least $20 billion in the state to expand its data center operations.
12. New Jersey (tie)
The Equinix NY5 data center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 78
Secaucus and Piscataway are two of New Jersey's main data center hubs, alongside Jersey City.
Equinix operates a 129,436-square-foot data center in Secaucus, known as NY5.
11. Florida
The HostDime data center in Eatonville, Florida, is north of Orlando.
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 113
Florida's 113 operational data centers are spread across 27 locations, with Miami accounting for the most at 33, followed by Tampa with 20, Jacksonville with 13, and Orlando with nine.
Data center provider HostDime has been based in the state since 2003 and is building a 100,000-square-foot facility in Eatonville.
10. Arizona
A QTS data center under construction in Phoenix in 2024.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 114
Phoenix contains 34 of Arizona's data centers, followed by Goodyear with 24, and Chandler with 17.
ABC 15 reported that companies such as Meta, Apple, and Microsoft all have campuses in Arizona.
9. Georgia
A QTS data center complex in Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2024.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 123
Atlanta has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Georgia, with 43 facilities, followed by Lithia Springs with 25 and Social Circle with 10.
The Sabey Data Centers' Seattle Data Center campus in Tukwila, Washington.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 132
Quincy has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Washington, with 33 facilities, followed by Seattle with 31, Tukwila with 16, and East Wenatchee with 11.
Washington's Department of Ecology says Quincy and Wenatchee are popular spots because they have cheaper, reliable energy.
7. Oregon
The Facebook Inc. Prineville Data Center stands in Prineville, Oregon, U.S., on Monday, April 28, 2014. The Facebook Prineville Data Center features leading energy-efficient technology, including features such as rainwater reclamation, a solar energy installation for providing electricity to the office areas and reuse of heat created by the servers to heat office space. Photographer: Meg Roussos/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 141
Hillsboro has the most operational data centers in Oregon, followed by Boardman, and then Umatilla and Prineville.
Oregon is home to Meta and Google's first-ever data centers: Meta built its in Prineville, and Google's The Dalles.
6. Illinois
A CyrusOne data center in Aurora, Illinois.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 143
Chicago has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Illinois, with 49 facilities, followed by Elk Grove Village, which has 24. Lombard, Aurora, and DeKalb each have seven.
The JPMorgan Chase data center in Orangeburg, New York.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 149
New York City is home to a large share of the state's operational data centers, with additional concentrations in Buffalo and Albany.
In July, New York was the first state to enact an executive order that imposed a statewide yearlong moratorium on hyperscale AI data centers.
4. Ohio
The 5C Data Centers CMH01 on October 18, 2026 in Springfield, Ohio.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 189
Columbus has the largest concentration of operational data centers in Ohio, with Johnstown, Hilliard, and Cleveland also home to significant numbers of facilities.
Intel announced plans in 2022 for a major semiconductor manufacturing facility in New Albany, a suburb in central Ohio known as the "Silicon Heartland," which is already home to data centers operated by Amazon, Google, and Meta, as Business Insider previously reported.
3. California
The Digital Realty SFO12 Data Center, center in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.
Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 285
Santa Clara has the largest concentration of operational data centers in California, with 75 facilities, followed by Los Angeles with 51 and San Jose with 26.
The Stargate Oracle AI data center under construction on August 26, 2026 in Abilene, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Number of operational data centers: 358
Of Texas's 358 operational data centers, 58 are located in Dallas, 42 in Houston, and 39 in San Antonio.
Earlier this year, Business Insider, citing research from Jones Lang LaSalle, reported that Texas is on track to become the largest data center market in the world by 2030.
Texas is home to some of the world's largest planned data center projects, such as Fermi America's Project Matador.
1. Virginia
An Amazon Web Services data center in Aldie, Virginia.
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